Very Good Advice - Robert Smith



As they do with most of their blockbuster movies, Disney has released an album of "music inspired by the film" to coincide with today's release of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. ALMOST ALICE features many artists that have brought their interpretations of Wonderland to song. The album has quite a range of artists, from Avril Lavigne to Wolfmother to the Plain White T's.

All the songs on the album are originals, except for this cover of Very Good Advice by ROBERT SMITH. I can't think of anyone better to be associated with a Tim Burton film than Robert Smith. As the lead singer of the Cure, Smith help define the goth movement in the 80s that seems to go hand in hind with Tim Burton today.

Musically, this cover is a bit more chipper than the sorrowful original, but still manages to bring across the point of the song. Smith creates an atmosphere that only he could do, perfect for this album and perfect for a Tim Burton movie.

Labels: alice in wonderland, almost alice, robert smith, rock, very good advice

  ¶ 10:42 AM 0 Comments Links to this post

  'Twas Brillig - Camarata Chorus & Orchestra



Here's a rare treat: A cover of the short chorus that the Cheshire Cat sings to himself in Alice in Wonderland. This chorus was originally written by Lewis Carroll for his book Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There, with music by Oliver Wallace. It is part of the much longer poem, Jabberwocky, which is made up of many nonsense words. Humpty Dumpty offers Alice an explanation of many of these words:

Brillig — Four o'clock in the afternoon: the time when you begin broiling things for dinner.

Slithy — Combination of "slimy" and "lithe."

Tove - A combination of a badger, a lizard, and a corkscrew. They are very curious looking creatures which make their nests under sundials and eat only cheese.

Gyre — To go round and round like a gyroscope.

Gimble — To make holes as does a gimlet.

Wabe — The grass plot around a sundial. It is called a "wabe" because it goes a long way before it, and a long way behind it, and a long way beyond it on each side.

Mimsy — Combination of "miserable" and "flimsy"

Borogove — A thin shabby-looking bird with its feathers sticking out all round, "something like a live mop".

Mome — Possibly short for "from home," meaning that the raths had lost their way.

Rath — A sort of green pig.

In the preface of his book, Carroll notes that gyre and gimble are pronounced with a hard g, and that slithy is pronounced like two words: sly and thee. The Cheshire Cat gets everything right, but Tutti Camarata and his Chorus gets all of this wrong. It also sounds like they are singing borogroves instead of borogoves.

It's a fine cover and the added bridge, which is not part of the original poem, is a nice addition to what would be a very repetitive song. However, it does bug me that they didn't pronounce those words correctly.

This song can be found on the 1957 Disneyland LP record ALICE IN WONDERLAND: MUSIC FROM THE SCORE which features new arrangements of the music from the film by Tutti Camarata. The entire album is available exclusively through iTunes.

Labels: alice in wonderland, alice in wonderland lp, jazz, tutti camarata, twas brillig

  ¶ 2:25 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  March of the Cards - Erich Kunzel & the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra



Back one this day in 1963, composer-conductor Oliver Wallace passed away. Wallace had a long career with Disney, scoring almost 150 Disney projects. His works included everything from the short subjects (Der Fuehrer's Face, Ben and Me, Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom and over 100 more) to live action films (Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Old Yeller) to documentaries (Seal Island, White Wilderness) to animated masterpieces (Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp). He worked for Disney from 1936 right up until his death thirty years later.

Wallace earned an Oscar for Best Score in 1941 for his work on Dumbo which he composed with Frank Churchill. He would go on to earn four more Oscar nominations for his scores to Victory Through Air Power, Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and White Wilderness.

Today's cover song is a real treat because it's not often that someone covers a score. But ERICH KUNZEL and the CINCINNATI POPS ORCHESTRA do just that with this cover of Wallace's March of the Cards from Alice in Wonderland.

Labels: a disney spectacular, alice in wonderland, cincinnati pops orchestra, erich kunzel, indiana singing hoosiers, march of the cards, showtunes

  ¶ 6:42 AM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Alice in Wonderland - Dave Brubeck Quartet




It was on this day in 1951 that Alice in Wonderland was released to theatres for the world to enjoy!

The title track which was written by Bob Hilliard and Sammy Fain and was performed by the Jud Conlon Chorus, was recorded a few years later by jazz musician DAVE BRUBECK and his quartet in 1957.

This version is a bit different than the Bill Evans version I posted before. While Brubeck keeps the time signature in 4/4 as per the original, he give the melody more of a triplet feel. The Evans version adapts this feel to 6/8, which has become a well recognized way of playing the song by jazz musicians over the years.

Labels: alice in wonderland, alice in wonderland song, dave brubeck quartet, dave digs disney, jazz

  ¶ 12:54 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Alice - Pogo



I was so impressed by this unique EP by POGO, aka Nick Bertke, when I heard it last week that I knew that I had to share another track with you today. In fact, I've decided to make this whole week Remix Week. Each day will focus on a different style of music remixing.

Bertke uses samples (sound clips) from Alice in Wonderland to create all new songs. About 90% of the sounds you will hear in this track, titled Alice, are from the film. I can't imagine the amount of time it would take to edit something like this. It's unique and sounds great.

The most recognizable sample in this song is a line from Very Good Advice. All four of the tracks can be downloaded for free here.

Labels: alice in wonderland, electronic, pogo, very good advice, wonderland

  ¶ 1:03 PM 2 Comments Links to this post

  Bread and Butterflies - Pogo



Cartoon Brew pointed out this new South African artist who took samples from Alice in Wonderland and mixed them in to a song all of their own. Although it's not really a cover, it is really cool and I knew I had to share it with you as soon as I heard it!

19-year-old Nick Bertke is the genius behind this music. He says of the four tracks he recorded “90% is composed using sounds recorded from the Disney film ‘Alice In Wonderland’.” The amount of time and editing that went into these songs must be incredible. Take a listen and you'll know what I'm talking about.

In this one track, titled Bread and Butterflies, you'll hear samples from Painting the Roses the Red, Twas Brillig and Golden Afternoon. All four of the tracks can be downloaded for free here.

Labels: alice in wonderland, bread and butterflies, electronica, golden afternoon, painting the roses red, pogo, twas brillig, wonderland

  ¶ 2:16 PM 1 Comments Links to this post

  Alice in Wonderland (Take 1) - Bill Evans Trio



Today I'm posting the third song from Alice in Wonderland this month! Joe, whoever you are, you must be happy now! Not only does this continue to fill Joe's request, but it also fills an anonymous request for this version of the title song by the BILL EVANS TRIO.

Bill Evans is one of the most influential jazz pianists of the 20th century. His use of syncopated and polyrhythmic melodic lines changed the way many jazz pianists interpreted melodies. He also took a new approach to soloing that often meant two people would solo together in a sort of 'conversation'.

Alice in Wonderland (Take 1) was recorded live at the Village Vanguard in July 1961. SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD collects the best of the five sessions recorded that day and is often said to be one of the best jazz recordings of all time. You'll notice that there is also Alice in Wonderland (Take 2) on this album. Last year a box set came out collecting all of the recording from these sessions.

The Bill Evans Trio featured bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian. SUNDAY AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD is the last time this trio would play together as LaFaro was killed in a car accident ten days later.

I chose to post this song because today marks the anniversary of Lewis Carrol's death in 1898. And in two weeks, on January 27th, marks the anniversary of his birth in 1832! No wonder I'm playing so much Alice in Wonderland this month!

Labels: alice in wonderland, alice in wonderland song, bill evans trio, jazz, sunday at the villange vanguard

  ¶ 9:08 AM 3 Comments Links to this post

  A World of My Own - Ed Harcourt



Finishing up Big Band Week we have a Terrible Track that comes from a live concert in London last year.

English alternative rocker, Jarvis Cocker, thought it would be a great treat to put on a two and a half hour concert of Disney music by some of the UK's most alternative musicians as part of his Meltdown festival in June 2007. He called it Forest of No Return and his main influence was Hal Willner's 1988 compilation album STAY AWAKE.

I didn't get to go to this show but a friend found a bootleg copy of it and sent it to me. The bootleg really is just a guy with a recording device in his jacket pocket. The sound quality is awful and that is one big reason why this is a terrible track.

ED HARCOURT, an English singer-songwriter sang a few numbers throughout the night but this one was probably his weakest. There are parts where I question if even knows what the melody is supposed to be. And about three minutes in, when he starts getting more...creative with the melody, it causes me to skip to the next track.

However, his piano playing is quite excellent and I read a review that said he had a whole-head rabbit mask put on his head right before his piano solo. Ed was still able to pull of a good solo.

The big band arrangement of this piece sounds great but the crappy recording and bad singing causes me to put this on the "terrible" list. I would love to hear a studio recording of this song! Will we get it? Maybe in a world of my own.

Labels: a world of my own, alice in wonderland, big band, ed harcourt, forest of no return concert, jazz, terrible

  ¶ 9:08 AM 4 Comments Links to this post

  Very Good Advice - Dave Brubeck Quartet




One of my readers, Joe, has requested some Alice in Wonderland covers and I am here to deliver! Tying that into another event, if the voice of the Cheshire Cat, Sterling Holloway, was still alive today he would turn 102! Happy birthday!

STERLING HOLOWAY did a lot of work with Disney. And I mean a lot! He was the narrator in a number of Disney shorts, Mr. Stork in Dumbo, Kaa in The Jungle Book, Roquefort in The Aristocats, and of course, Winnie the Pooh, a role that he voiced until his retirement in 1979!

If I could have, I would have posted a cover of the Jabberwocky song that the Cheshire Cat sings in Alice in Wonderland. So instead I give you Very Good Advice. This song is a turning point in the film for Alice. She desperately tries to be an adult but realizes in this song that she still has a lot to learn.

THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET take the melody and turn it into a happy jazz standard. It doesn't really follow the same feel as its original counterpart. If you own DAVE DIGS DISNEY on vinyl you won't hear this song as it is an unreleased track from the studio sessions that was included on the CD release.

Labels: alice in wonderland, dave brubeck quartet, dave digs disney, jazz, very good advice

  ¶ 7:15 AM 2 Comments Links to this post